Sound Academy

Upcoming Shows: Bebel Gilberto, Sound Academy, November 30

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Mark in Concerts | 1 Comment

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Toronto – Brazillian songstress Bebel Gilberto is currently on tour promoting her latest album All In One. It’s a laid-back blend of Bossa Nova with modern influences. You can read our full review of the album here. Her tour brings her to Canada in the end of November where she will be playing both in Montreal (at L’Astral 2000) and then at Toronto’s Sound Academy.

I remember fondly the last time I saw Bebel Gilberto play Toronto at the Mod Club. Her show had been delayed because she had broken her foot I believe. In any case, seeing Bebel play live was like drinking refreshingly cold water directly from some kind of crazy moonlit waterfall. It was good clean fun. I’m a huge fan of her step-mom Astrud Gilberto, and her rendition of Astrud’s So Nice was a highlight of the show.

Attached are some samples her latest album, including Stevie Wonders The Real Thing, which was a collaboration with Mark Ronson and the Dap-Kings.

Tickets are availble through her web-site. Better yet, you can avoid Ticketmaster surcharges by picking them up at Rotate This.

 

icon for podpress  The Real Thing: Play Now


 

icon for podpress  Chica Chica Boom Chic: Play Now

Toronto Jazz Festival – Maceo Parker, Sound Academy, June 20

Posted on June 22, 2008 by Mark in Concerts, Toronto Jazz Festival | 3 Comments

Maceo Parker funking it up - picture by Mark

Mark’s Review

Toronto – What more can be said of Mr. Maceo Parker, the funktastic sax who played with James Brown for so many years? To say that this show was dripping with sweet funk would be an understatement. This show was pure dance party funk from start to finish, and the crowd couldn’t get enough of it.

As one friend stated, “there was a lot of confidence on that stage”. This was certainly the case. Maceo has assembled himself a super tight funk orchestra that knows how to rock like nobody’s business. It’s a very well put together sound, and you know that they know that they know it. They wore suits, and they came, and they threw down, and there was merriment.

It’s too bad that such a great show had to happen at the Docks (sorry, the Sound Academy). The sound was a little muddy at the beginning. Fortunately adjustments were made and the band came into balance after a few songs. Then it was just pure funk energy for two solid hours. I was hoping for a couple more Ray Charles tunes, but I was really glad to hear a bit of “Georgia on My Mind” on flute, and “You Don’t Know Me” during the encore.

The Sound Academy still sucks though. The acoustics are still bad. There are TV’s showing live feeds of the show all around the room. I suppose you can make an argument that then people who are farther from the stage can see what’s going on, but in my opinion it takes away from the actual musicians on stage. Who is going to face away from the band and watch the TV’s at the back of the room?

Sound issues aside, I don’t think the Docks/Sound Academy can ever really truly succeed as a great venue because of its location. It’s just too much of a hassle to get way out there, and then getting back is always difficult as cab’s take advantage of the location to extort the concert goers.

So all in all, this show unfolded as I expected. A fantastic band, and a fantastic show, just too bad it had to be at the Docks.

Maceo Parker: 4.8/5 Sound Academy: 3/5

Ricky’s Review
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